One-bowl Banana Bread

You may not think the “one-bowl” part is important, but it is. One bowl means less tricky steps to follow, less dishes and less time. One bowl is life.

My husband loves banana bread. This is the recipe that his mom and sister make, and they were kind enough to pass on. He grew up on this recipe and if I make even the slightest ingredient change, he KNOWS. One time I tried adding a 1/2 cup of self-rising flour as a substitute for regular flour just to see how it affected the texture and he could tell. He asked me politely to not do that again.

Whenever our bananas get spotty and brown, I throw them in the freezer. If I know I’m going to make banana bread, I take them out and put them on the counter to thaw for about an hour. Once they’re thawed, throw all your wet ingredients into a large bowl and mix.

I usually use my hand mixer on medium speed, as it does a great job of chopping up the banana chunks. After you have mixed well for a few minutes, add your dry ingredients and mix again until all ingredients are combined well. Add your chocolate chips… I use a whole bag… and mix with a spoon to prevent the chips from being chopped up.

After 30 minutes of baking, take out the bread and cover it with tin foil for the next 60 minutes. Do not miss this step… the first time I made the bread, I forgot the tin foil and the crust was rock hard. I caught my husband poking it with a knife when he didn’t think I was looking like it was a dead animal on the side of the road. After 90 minutes of baking, pull it out and check the middle of the bread with a knife to make sure it comes out clean. Let cool for an hour in the pan, then remove and enjoy!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix your bananas, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and sugar in a large mixing bowl on medium speed until creamy and blended. Add your flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and mix well until all ingredients are combined. Add chocolate chips and mix lightly with a spoon or spatula. Pour batter into greased or non-stick bread pan and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove bread and cover with tin foil. Bake for another 60 minutes, then remove foil and check center of bread by sticking a sharp knife through the middle. If the knife comes out clean with no batter, it is ready. If not, put the tin foil back on and bake for another 10 minutes. Let bread cool in pan for about an hour, then remove and enjoy!